Make-a-Moveset: Mega Roserade
See just how the PokéCommunity would put one of their awesome Make-a-Mega concepts to good use in a competitive battle. This time users 5qwerty and Mobile Tsk show us how Mega Roserade could be played.
Many months ago, the artists and competitive battlers of the PokéCommunity embarked upon a mission of sorts. As a community we made it our goal to take some of the forgotten Pokémon, the ones in need of a power up, and create for them powerful Mega Evolutions that would render them usable in the OverUsed meta. Now, with the spin-off series Make-a-Moveset, we are going to take a more in-depth look at the strategies that would be available to these hypothetical Mega Pokémon.
The first Pokémon we tackled was Roserade, creating a powerful anti-meta sweeper that would leave a lot of standard Pokémon cowering in fear and unable to switch in. Below are movesets contributed by two of the PokéCommunity’s battlers that take full use of Mega Roserade’s newfound speed and power. Refresh your memory on what we proposed for Mega Roserade here.
5qwerty’s Moveset
Below is a moveset from 5qwerty who aims to make use of Mega Roserade’s massive base 165 Special Attack and high Speed stat in order for Roserade to function as a powerful sweeper.
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Roserade |
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| Held Item | Roseradite |
| Ability | Natural Cure |
| EVs | 40 HP / 252 SAtk / 216 Spe |
| Nature | Timid (+Spe, -Atk) |
| Moves |
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Pre-Mega, Roserade is very slow, so Protect would be good to run to get that speed right away. It’s situational that a Roserade would be in on something slower, or something choice locked into a weak attack – it does happen, but Protect gives Roserade the best chances of Mega-Evolving safely. Also please note that I have Natural Cure since it’s the best pre-Mega ability for Roserade.
Sludge Bomb and Giga Drain are good STAB moves. Energy Ball can be run over Giga Drain for more power, but Giga Drain gives a lot of healing back. Leaf Storm could also be run, but maybe that would be for a Wallbreaker set.
The last move is HP Ground or HP Fire. Ground defeats Heatran, while Fire beats Ferrothorn and Scizor. Choose the right move that fits your team (Magnezone + M-Roserade would have Roserade running HP Ground). Alternatively, HP Ice can be used to deal with Dragon-type Pokémon or Landorus/Garchomp.
Roserade can function as a late game sweeper, using its STAB moves to defeat its weakened opponents. It outspeeds most of the OU tier, but has to watch out for priority (Talonflame, Mega Pinsir, Weavile) as well as scarf users. EVs are set to outspeed Mega Lopunny and Mega Manectric. It would need a lot of support to deal with its checks and to make sure hazards stay on the opponent’s side of the field so that it has an easier time cleaning up.
Note: In Generation Seven, Mega Evolved Pokémon will have their Mega Speed immediately upon evolution instead of retaining their original Speed stat for the first turn. This means that Protect may not be as useful on Mega Roserade in a post-Generation Six setting.
Mobile Tsk’s Moveset
Mobile Tsk also looks to make use of Mega Roserade’s terrifying Special Attack although her set is less of an all out sweeper and more of an offensive utility Pokémon also combining Roserade’s access to entry hazards, recovery and status moves with those offenses.
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Roserade |
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|---|---|
| Held Item | Roseradite |
| Ability | Natural Cure |
| EVs | 252 HP / 252 SAtk / 4 Spe |
| Nature | Modest (+SAtk, -Atk) |
| Moves |
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The set above gives Mega Roserade a chance to take on some of the tier’s top threats offensively while also giving it the bulk to set up multiple layers of Spikes against specially offensive foes. The given EV spread guarantees that Roserade will survive a Fire Blast from a non-boosted Clefable, which it will in turn 2HKO with Sludge Bomb (even specially defensive variants; without Sp Def investment Clefable will be OHKO’d). Serperior does a pittance with HP Fire and is easily OHKO’d by Sludge Bomb. Leaf Storm is usually preferable over Giga Drain to earn some key OHKO’s, like Assault Vest Azumarill and Diancie before Mega Evolving. However, the Sp Atk drop leaves Roserade very vulnerable, and Roserade will need the recovery if you choose to forgo Synthesis for Sleep Powder. If you choose Sleep Powder, this allows you to buy time when a predicted hard counter like Heatran or Talonflame switch in. Roserade can take on some unexpected threats with this set, being able to survive Zapdos’ Heat Wave, outspeed and 2HKO it.
Though their abilities are rather redundant, Volcanion makes a great partner for Mega Roserade with its ability to take on Talonflame, Heatran, and Mega Charizard-Y, along with other Fire types in the tier. Volcanion can also brilliantly tank Ice type attacks for Roserade and take on nearly any Steel type in the tier. Something that forces a lot of switches, like Alakazam, Kyurem-B, Gengar or Weavile loves Roserade’s Spikes support and they can all use the extra help in scoring some crucial OHKOs and 2HKOs. Magezone is also a good teammate because it can trap and remove Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Scizor, three otherwise excellent answers to Mega Roserade.
After Spikes, Roserade will 2HKO Excadrill with Leaf Storm even considering the Sp Atk drop (so it will generally win one-on-one), but Air Balloon Magnezone would also serve as a decent answer to this threat. Gliscor can tank phsyical hits for Mega Roserade and loves its ability to dispatch of Azumarill, Slowbro, Rotom-W and Keldeo (among others) for it. Roserade also loves a teammate like Tyranitar or Scizor that can totally wreck Mamoswine (in Scizor’s case) and Weavile for it. Tyranitar can also take on Talonflame, which totally wrecks Mega Roserade.
A big thank you to both 5qwerty and Mobile Tsk for their participation and quality explanations. If you’d like to be featured in an article like this, keep an eye out for our next Make-a-Moveset which will be focused on our Mega Luxray concept.
Edited by bobandbill.
